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Hi all!
New user here saying hello. I love lever actions but I do not shoot CAS, I just like to take 'em into the woods and shoot standard power loads through them. I have 2 Miroku/Winchester 1892 short rifles in .44 rem mag, a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in .357 and a JM 1894C .357 Marlin on its way. I also have a few pistols other rifles and shotguns.
The 1894C has a 1 piece firing pin from the previous owner. However, I want to carry this gun in the woods and I am not shooting competition with it. Would I be wise to get an old 2 piece firing pin setup for it to get it reinstalled? I don't like the idea of the 1 piece disabling a safety feature on the gun. I know it may make it less smooth or maybe make the effort to cycle the gun a bit heavier, but I am ok with that.
The only problem is that if You ever want to sell a modified firearm (non factory) we need either to return it to how it left the factory or have the new owner sign a discloser about it. A lawyer might have a field day in court. AND welcome to the Fire.
lazarus870 wrote:Hi all!
New user here saying hello. I love lever actions but I do not shoot CAS, I just like to take 'em into the woods and shoot standard power loads through them. I have 2 Miroku/Winchester 1892 short rifles in .44 rem mag, a Marlin 1894 Cowboy Limited in .357 and a JM 1894C .357 Marlin on its way. I also have a few pistols other rifles and shotguns.
The 1894C has a 1 piece firing pin from the previous owner. However, I want to carry this gun in the woods and I am not shooting competition with it. Would I be wise to get an old 2 piece firing pin setup for it to get it reinstalled? I don't like the idea of the 1 piece disabling a safety feature on the gun. I know it may make it less smooth or maybe make the effort to cycle the gun a bit heavier, but I am ok with that.
Thank you!
If you know how the gun functions and you know how to be safe with it and if you practice being safe with it all the time then there is no problem. If you trust your safety to a mechanical feature you can easily be in trouble some day. Now if you just dislike the idea of the one-piece firing pin then by all means change it. Confidence in your firearm goes a long way toward helping you be better with it.
FWIW, I've owned at least 12 different Marlin leverguns over the past 50-odd years, and have never felt the need to change out the 2-piece FP's to a 1-piece unit.
Under the premise "dance with who brung ya", I'd recommend replacing the 1-piece FP with an issue 2-piece FP from Numrich or Marlin.
Marlin fan here - no one-piece firing pins in my Marlins, and never a problem from them.
There ARE some 'safety' features I dislike (the Rossi bolt-top one comes to mind), and I am absolutely convinced they are dangerous in that they flip on when not intended (so the bear or bad-guy just hears a 'click' instead of a 'boom'), and can flip off when intended to be on (accidental discharge). Those I am in favor of bypassing, although I'd never sell a gun without returning it to 'factory configuration' (but who sells guns anyway...??? ).
On the other hand, the Marlins, even with the pushbutton receiver safety, are well made, and the safety stays 'on' or 'off' as intended, so I have no problems with them...!
Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws "first do no harm" - gun control LAWS lead to far more deaths than 'easy access' ever could.
If the lever/ trigger interlock is working the two piece firing pin is redundant. I have a one piece firing pins in my two Marlin 94's that are used for CAS. I own 20+ other Marlin Levers that all have two piece firing pins.
When shooting pistol caliber cowboy loads, an out of battery shot would not be as dangerous as a full power rifle load would be. Unless the bolt is almost all the way home, the hammer would strike the bolt rather than the firing pin and prevent firing. Note the angle of the rear of the bolt on them.
I've owned hundreds of Marlin lever actions and all had factory two piece firing pins. I don't shoot CAS, but for my shooting I'm very happy with the factory 2 piece firing pins.
In my not so humble opinion, the one piece firing pin for Marlins is a gimmick thought up by gamesters who abuse their weapons using them in a manner never imagined by their designers.
I've not owned near as many Marlins as marlinman93, but all mine retained their original firing pins. Not one has ever given me any trouble.
The two piece firing pin was designed for a reason well before the lawyer inspired cross bolt safeties and other widgets. Personally were I to acquire a Marlin with such a firing pin, I'd replace it with the OEM style as soon as I could.
As I said, JMNSHO.
Joe
***Be sneaky, get closer, bust the cap on him when you can put the ball where it counts .***
4 Marlins and all have the 2 piece firing pin. I have looked at the writeups, and it seems to me to be a solution to a problem which I don't have. I don't shoot competition, so it is not a problem for me. I probably would go back to the factory original style firing pin, if it were me. Millions of reliably fired rounds cannot be due to a design flaw.
D. Brian Casady
Quid Llatine Dictum Sit, Altum Viditur.
Advanced is being able to do the basics while your leg is on fire---Bill Jeans
Don't ever take a fence down until you know why it was put up---Robert Frost
I have an 1894 that I use for CAS and I did change to a steel 1 piece firing pin, along with new springs. The reason I changed it was with the lighter springs the hammer strike would not set off all brands of primers. CCI's would not fire. I own many other Marlins, none of which I have gone to a single stage firing pin. I did keep all the factory parts and to return it to factory condition takes about 10 minutes. I don't think it makes a difference in a hunting gun, so they stay as designed. It does make a difference on my competition gun. It cycles with less effort and quicker with the changes.
The 1881, 1888, 1889, and very early 1894 Marlins had one piece firing pins. Sometime in 1894 LL Hepburn redesigned the 1894 to change to a 2 piece firing pin so the gun could not be fired if the lever wasn't fully closed. Going back to a one piece firing pin allows the gun to be fired with the lever partially open. It isn't just a case of where the gun is pointed, but rather a case of firing the gun without the block fully engaged into the breechbolt. If that happens, it could shear the block, and end up with the breechbolt back into the shooter's face.
I got my gun today. Really beautiful piece of shooting iron. Sadly, it seems the gun can drop its trigger while the lever is partially open and the action is slightly open. Doesn't need to be in full lockup to fire, it seems. I wonder if this is the trigger safety disabled too or some expensive fix I'm about to see?
Ugh.
Obviously I'm not going to shoot it without a 'smith looking at it.
I'm a gamer what abuses my guns unmercifully, (yep, a CAS competitor). Yet, both my Marlins retain the 2-piece firing pin. If it ain't broke, no need to fix it.
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
lazarus870 wrote:I got my gun today. Really beautiful piece of shooting iron. Sadly, it seems the gun can drop its trigger while the lever is partially open and the action is slightly open. Doesn't need to be in full lockup to fire, it seems. I wonder if this is the trigger safety disabled too or some expensive fix I'm about to see?
Ugh.
Obviously I'm not going to shoot it without a 'smith looking at it.
No, the design doesn't have a disconnect to stop the trigger from being pulled with the lever slightly opened. This is why the 2 piece firing pin was designed. It doesn't stop the hammer from dropping with lever open, but it stops the firing pin from striking the primer. As long as your gun has a 2 piece firing pin, the hammer wont hit the primer with the lever slightly opened.
lazarus870 wrote:I got my gun today. Really beautiful piece of shooting iron. Sadly, it seems the gun can drop its trigger while the lever is partially open and the action is slightly open. Doesn't need to be in full lockup to fire, it seems. I wonder if this is the trigger safety disabled too or some expensive fix I'm about to see?
Ugh.
Obviously I'm not going to shoot it without a 'smith looking at it.
No, the design doesn't have a disconnect to stop the trigger from being pulled with the lever slightly opened. This is why the 2 piece firing pin was designed. It doesn't stop the hammer from dropping with lever open, but it stops the firing pin from striking the primer. As long as your gun has a 2 piece firing pin, the hammer wont hit the primer with the lever slightly opened.
I'm pretty sure there is a design separate from the 2-piece firing pin that won't allow the gun to fire unless the lever is closed. It's a little black springy tab underneath the lever.
If my other Marlin 94 is open and I try to pull the trigger, the hammer will not drop.
lazarus870 wrote:I got my gun today. Really beautiful piece of shooting iron. Sadly, it seems the gun can drop its trigger while the lever is partially open and the action is slightly open. Doesn't need to be in full lockup to fire, it seems. I wonder if this is the trigger safety disabled too or some expensive fix I'm about to see?
Ugh.
Obviously I'm not going to shoot it without a 'smith looking at it.
No, the design doesn't have a disconnect to stop the trigger from being pulled with the lever slightly opened. This is why the 2 piece firing pin was designed. It doesn't stop the hammer from dropping with lever open, but it stops the firing pin from striking the primer. As long as your gun has a 2 piece firing pin, the hammer wont hit the primer with the lever slightly opened.
I'm pretty sure there is a design separate from the 2-piece firing pin that won't allow the gun to fire unless the lever is closed. It's a little black springy tab underneath the lever.
If my other Marlin 94 is open and I try to pull the trigger, the hammer will not drop.
Yes a trigger block safety.
Items: 64-66
Griff,
SASS/CMSA #93
NRA Patron
GUSA #93
There is a fine line between hobby & obsession! AND... I'm over it!!
No I ain't ready, but let's do it anyway!
I've got some with one piece, some with two. I haven't had any issues with either. As to any supposed safety issues, the only safety you should trust is the one between your ears.
In industry they frequently have safety training. One question always pops up in any session. "Who is responsible for your safety?" The answer of course is you are responsible for your safety. This applies ten fold when handling firearms.
Jeepnik AKA "Old Eyes"
"Go low, go slow and preferably in the dark" The old Sarge (he was maybe 24.
"Freedom is never more that a generation from extinction" Ronald Reagan
"Every man should have at least one good rifle and know how to use it" Dad
). 
.***
